OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of overweight and its association with socioeconomic and environmental factors, ownership of household goods, maternal nutritional status, and healthcare in preschoolers. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 954 preschoolers from the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, 2006. Multiple logistic regression with hierarchical modeling was conducted. Odds ratios for overweight (crude and adjusted for confounders) were calculated for each independent variable. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight was 8.1% for the state as a whole and 9% for the Recife Metropolitan Region. In urban and rural areas, the prevalence was 9.7 and 6.8%, respectively. A high prevalence of overweight was found among children whose families lived in better socioeconomic conditions (per capita family income, high educational achievement and access to household goods, better housing and sanitation, and healthcare). The logistic regression final model indicated that maternal educational achievement, ownership of household goods, and maternal body mass index were the determinants that best explained child overweight. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight was more prevalent than malnutrition among preschoolers. The prevalence was highest among children living in more privileged socioeconomic conditions.